Gundam SEED Fate
by skywolf666
Summary: My version of how I think GS should have turned out yeah another rewrite , rated M for a reason. Add more mobile suits, few more characters and a love for screwing up storylines plus an insane authoress and this is what you get XD. AC, KL, MD, MM, NOC.
1. Explanation Bios Mecha

Gundam SEED Fate

Lol, now_ this _one people, is my baby. As anyone who listens to my long and nonsense rambling can tell you, I've been planning Gundam SEED Fate for well over a year and a half. Because my damn computer crashed on me, I lost all of the work I had done previously on said fanfiction. So, I get the great honour of redoing all the writing and having my hands go on strike from too much work, go me XD (They're already protesting, I'm so screwed, carpel tunnel syndrome anyone?) Alrighty, whining aside... GSF is my own rewrite of Gundam SEED. Yes, yes, how many people have done this? Lol, I honestly don't care, I'm writing it cause if I don't, I'll go stark raving nuts. (More than usual) So please bear with this psycho little fangirl and her maniac and Smarties-addicted plot-fairy until further notice, kay?

And also, I don't know if anybody noticed (or cared for that matter) but I have traded in GSG for GSF. I will be moving out into my own place two years from now (I'm hoping) so I only really have that set amount of time to write what I want while I have a computer on hand for free. So GSF sadly comes before the sequel to GSE, and so it gets to go first. (It took ages to reach that decision, aren't I a sucker for my stories?) So let's just get down to it so I can stop the moping around.

Okay now, introduction time! (Okay the "official" introduction, leave me alone) As you already should know, as authoress, I get to choose just how badly I get to fuck up this anime. And because I like to really mess around with the real world, I decided I'm going to pull an epic just because I can. (grins) So please ladies and gents, don't hate me because I go out of my way to be insane in public. Heheh, so this is a forewarning to you people before you start reading, please buckle in and keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times, and please wear the helmets.

So, just to tell you ahead of time so I don't scare anybody and I don't get questions and stuff about "Why is this different?" and "Why isn't so-and-so in the story?" and "This never happened in canon." etc etc, I will explain things to you. Flay Alster isn't in the story (bursts into an epic choreographed dance) for three reasons, two of which are rude so I won't say anything to incur a Kira/Flay fangirl's wrath, but I just don't see the point in making the poor boy go through even more stuff, and I just don't like the way her character is used, so she isn't in my fiction. Tolle (I saw no use for this boy) will be included, but for the sake of a lot of things, he and Miriallia won't be dating, friends, yes, boyfriend and girlfriend, no. Ah, and I think someone somewhere out there will want to kiss me for doing this, but enter Shiho! XD (starts laughing) I like her, for no reason I really do like her, so I'm going to give her a speaking role. (was probably jumped by somebody) Alright, one more, at the Battle of Endymion (those hardcore GS fans, or Mu fangirls will know this) Mu La Flaga had a partner by the name of Justin Halberton, who was awarded a title like Mu for his bravery. Mu is the "Hawk", Halberton is the "Eagle" (don't ask why, Mu's more of a Hawk than an Eagle to me). So that about wraps it all up for me, so... Onto stuff I guess, lol.

DISCLAIMER (why do I do this stuff?)

I DO NOT OWN GUNDAM SEED OR GUNDAM SEED DESTINY, OR ANY CHARACTERS, PRODUCTS, MACHINERY, STORYLINE, SONGS AND/OR ANY OTHER THINGS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ANIME. I LIKEWISE DON'T OWN ANY PRODUCTS, SONG LYRICS, BRANDS AND/OR QUOTES THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE FOUND INSIDE OF THIS FANFICTION. THIS FICTION IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY.

**RATED MA FOR:**

Adult Content

Sexual Innuendo

Lemon and Lime

Mature Humour

Coarse Language

Substance Abuse

Bios/Mecha

Name: Justin Halberton

Genetic Type: Natural

DOB: August 8th, C.E 42.

Age: 28

Nationality: Atlantic Federation.

Allegiance: OMNI Enforcer.

Rank/Position: Lieutenant Commander.

Family: Lewis Halberton (elder brother), Maria Halberton (mother), Murrue Ramius (adopted younger sister)

Height: 180 cm

Weight: 80 kg

Hair Color: Dark Auburn

Eye Color: Emerald

Blood Type: A

Suit: GAT-X106 Breaker

Items of Personal Value: Cross Pendant

Personality: Calm, casual, carefree and laid-back are a few words used to describe Commander Justin Halberton. He carries a cool attitude towards the war, but normally is seen lounging around in boredom on the ship when a battle is not taking place. He earned the title "Eagle of Endymion" during the battle of the Endymion Crater, a battle which only Mu and Justin survived. Though somewhat cocky both on the battlefield and off of it, Justin's cool-headedness and quick thinking make him an excellent tactician, and his skills with both mobile suits and the TS-MA2mod.00 Moebius Zero are impeccable.

* * *

Name: James Andre Peters

Genetic Type: Natural (CPU, Second Stage)

DOB: July 3rd

Age:16

Nationality: Atlantic Federation

Allegiance: OMNI Enforcer

Rank/Position: Ensign

Family: None

Height: 177 cm

Weight: 77 kg

Hair Color: Dark Brown

Eye Color: Copper

Blood Type: O

Suit: GAT-X307 Cerberus

Items of Personal Value: None

Personality: James is the calmest of the Extended foursome, seeming to be completely emotionally detached. Though he displays a show of slight regret towards some of the orders he's given, he has a harsh tendency to always follow through with them. He has absolutely no care for any of his teammates, showing disdain and disgust with their actions, though he is willing to turn on them if they interfere in his fights. Uncaring, incredibly intelligent, and cold, James has earned the nickname the "Perfect Killer" for being able to complete any task assigned to him without hesitation. He seems to be the most stable out of the three and also the hardest to control.

* * *

Name: Charles Blunt Starbright

Genetic Type: Natural

DOB: April 9th, C.E 23

Age: 48

Nationality: Atlantic Federation

Allegiance: OMNI Enforcer

Rank/Position: Captain

Family: Evera Starbright (wife, deceased), Hope Starbright (daughter), Murrue Ramius (adopted daughter), Bradley Ramius (adopted son)

Height: 180 cm

Weight: 78 kg

Hair Color: Dark Blond

Eye Color: Navy

Blood Type: AB Negative

Items of Personal Value: Wedding Rings

Personality: Charles is a kind-hearted but brilliant minded captain, who long ago earned the trust of his subordinate officers and favouritism of the top-heads. He's a quick-thinking man who is a long-time veteran of the war, and has been captain for quite a long time, now in charge of his own ship, which "unofficially" was never released into the records. His daughter is the First Mate of the ship, though not through favouritism, Hope is likewise a skilled tactician. His skill makes him a renowned captain, and despite the fact that he was a victor of several harsh battles, he has long since been a supporter of Siegal Clyne's "Anti-war" position.

* * *

Name: Hope Starbright

Genetic Type: Natural

DOB: July 30th, C.E 45

Age: 26

Nationality: Alaska.

Allegiance: Atlantic Federation

Rank/Position: Lieutenant Commander/Executive Officer

Family: Charles Starbright (father), Evera Starbright (mother, deceased), Murrue Ramius (adopted sister), Bradley Ramius (adopted brother)

Height: 175 cm

Weight: 74 kg

Hair Color: Navy

Eye Color: Baby Blue

Blood Type: AB Negative

Items of Personal Value: Diamond Pendant

Personality: As the only biological daughter Charles had, Hope takes immense pride in her paternity and her role as the Executive Officer onboard her father's ship. As cool-headed as her father in battle situations, what sets Hope apart from the other soldiers is her laidback and almost carefree attitude towards the war and other serious matters. Though Hope appears to not care, she's almost always devising strategies to help her father and comrades out on the battlefield. She has a strong dislike for her superiors in both Alaska and Eurasia, and only really ever follows her father's orders, even if begrudgingly. Hope grew up in Canada despite being born in Alaska territory, and was raised with her adopted sister Murrue Ramius and brother, Bradley Ramius, before he abandoned them at age fifteen, leaving them to grow up on their own.

* * *

Name: Bradley Ramius

Genetic Type: Natural

DOB: December 3rd, C.E 42

Age: 29

Nationality: Eurasian Federation

Allegiance: OMNI Enforcer

Rank/Position: Commander

Family: Murrue Ramius (biological sister), Hope Starbright (adopted sister), Parents (deceased)

Height: 181 cm

Weight: 80 kg

Hair Color: Dark Brown

Eye Color: Tawny

Blood Type: O

Items of Personal Value: Infinity Pendant

Personality: Bradley is a strong-willed but kind-hearted man, who always puts his friends and comrades before himself. When he was younger his parents were killed by Blue Cosmos member sand shortly after he left his two younger sisters alone, setting out to become a soldier to escape the tragedy. He's furthered his military career, becoming a commander before he reached twenty years of age, making him one of the youngest commanders in history. With an iron will and being able to think on his feet, what sets Bradley apart from other soldiers if his views on Coordinators, to which he has no set opinion.

* * *

Mecha

Name: MBF- 03 Strike Bleu

Manufacturer: Morgenroete Inc

Users: ORB Union

Unit Type: Prototype All-Purpose Multi-Mode Mobile Suit

Head Height: 17.72 m

Base Weight: 64.8 tonnes

Power-plant: Ultra-compact Energy Battery

Special Equipment: PHASE Shift Armor, Hardpoints for mounting Striker Packs

Armament: "Igelstellung" 75mm anti-air vulcan gun x2, (fire-linked, mounted in head), "Armor Schneider" combat knives x2 (stored on hip armor), 57mm high-energy beam rifle.

Optional Armament: Aile Striker Pack, Sword Striker Pack, Launcher Striker Pack, Strike IWSP, Lightning Striker Pack.

Other Information: The Strike Bleu is a sister mobile suit unit almost completely identical to the Strike and Strike Rouge units, capable of mounting all Striker packs. The few things that set the Strike Bleu apart from the original Strike is a sharper and more angular frame and its pale blue hue and darker royal blue cockpit.

* * *

Name: GAT-X307 Cerberus

Manufacturer: Earth Alliance

Users: Earth Alliance

Unit Type: Prototype Attack Use Transformable Mobile Suit

Head Height:17.90 m

Base Weight: 71.10 tonnes

Power-plant: Ultra-compact Energy Battery

Special Equipment: Trans-PHASE Armor

Armament: "Igelstellung" 77mm multi-barrel CIWS x6 (fire-linked, mounted in head in mobile suit mode, mounting in shoulders in quadruped mode), M417 80mm machine gun x1 (mounted on left arm in mobile suit mode, on right shoulder in quadruped mode), MA-BAR71XE high-energy beam rifle x1 (mounted on shoulders in quadruped mode, hand carried in use), MR-Q17X "Griffon" beam blade (mounted on main body in quadruped mode, hand carried in use)

Optional Armament: None.

Pilot: James Peters

Other Information: The GAT-X307 Cerberus Gundam is one of the first mobile suits with the ability to transform into quadruped mode, a feature which James is highly affectionate of. With a dark, almost black/brown color scheme, the mobile suit resembles a wolf or a dog, which it earned its namesake of, "The Hound of Hades".

* * *

Name: GAT-X106 Breaker

Manufacturer: Morgenroete Inc

Users: Earth Alliance

Unit Type: Prototype Assault Purpose Mobile Suit

Head Height:17.60 m

Base Weight: 74.56 tonnes

Power-plant: Ultra-compact Energy Battery

Special Equipment: PHASE Armor, Hardpoints for Breaker packs.

Armament: "Igelstellung" 77mm multi-barrel CIWS x6 (fire-linked, mounted in head x2, mounted in forearms, x4) Beam Saber x2 (stored in hips), "Armor Schneider" combat knives (stored in hips)

Optional Armament: Gun Breaker Pack ("Agni" 320mm hyper impulse cannon x1 (mounted on right shoulder, hand carried in use), 120mm anti-ship vulcan gun x1 (mounted behind left shoulder), 350mm gun launcher x1 (mounted on left shoulder)) Sword Breaker Pack ("Schwert Gewehr" 15.78 meter anti-ship sword (stored on back) "Panzer Eisen" Rocket anchor (mounted on right forearm, can fire out a line), "Midas Messer" beam boomerang (mounted on left shoulder of sword armor)

Pilot: Justin Halberton

Other Information: The GAT-X106 Breaker is a unit very similar to the Strike, capable of equipping two backpacks very similar to the striker packs. The Breaker is used for assault purposes only, favouring both swords and guns in most combat situations. Despite being saved from the raid on Heliopolis the packs were also saved. The Breaker is a mix of the Duel, Buster and Strike, having the Duel's main frame with the Buster's harder armour and the Strike's weapons system. The Breaker has a white, navy and grey colour scheme. With a white frame, navy shoulder, forearm and leg armour, and grey joints and lining.

* * *

**AN:**

**So, there's the intro, the bios and the mecha... Lol, is anyone actually interested in pursuing this story? Heehee. Rewrites aren't exactly popular, most don't really enjoy them. Though if you've got a great author (and I don't mean me) rewrites can actually sometimes be better than the original. Lol. Well review if you'd like to see me continue it, we'll see how things go.**

**Sky **


	2. Phase 1

False Peace

PHASE 01

_Year 70 of the Cosmic Era. Due to the Bloody Valentine tragedy, tensions between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT quickly developed into a full-fledged armed conflict. No one doubted that the superior in numbers Earth Forces would claim a quick victory... But these early predictions proved to be false. Almost eleven months have passed since the war began... With no true end in sight._

**January 25****th**

**Heliopolis Technical College**

**2:01 p.m.**

The day was clear, the simulated sun burning brightly in the coloured blue skies, not a cloud in sight. Students were milling about as the college emptied and they began to head for home. Chatter filled the air, and the once empty school-grounds were filled with students of all ages.

Inside a wall-less structure, at a picnic table sat a brunette boy, his violet eyes focussed on the screen of his laptop, which sat in front of him. He seemed oblivious to the din around him, as if in his own small world. He was typing quickly, his hands seeming to be a blur across the dark keyboard.

On his shoulder sat a small robotic bird which seemed to be watching his progress. The bird's crimson eyes flashed a little, and it spread its yellow wings for a moment before settling back onto the young man's shoulder, chirping mechanically every so often "Birdy?" It had a green body with a yellow underside and torso.

A few feet away, Miriallia Haww watched as her friend worked tirelessly and rolled her blue eyes skyward in affectionate exasperation. Crossing her arms, she resisted the urge to go over and begin scolding the boy, and instead straightened a crease in her dress. 'He's going to work himself to death one day.' Hearing footsteps behind her she looked over her shoulder to see a fellow friend, Tolle Koenig and smiled. "Hey Tolle."

"Hey." Tolle replied cheerily, before blowing upwards to move a lock of his unruly brown hair out of his pale blue eyes. He idly shrugged his bag to his other shoulder, his right hand sliding into his pocket. He looked over to see the brunette boy absorbed in his work, and he chuckled. "Busy at work again, is he?"

"Always is. I really think the professor puts too much on him." Miriallia told him with a dramatic sigh, running a hand through her hair. "Kira never has time for a personal life anymore." She noticed Tolle nod hastily but looked incredibly sheepish for some reason and she immediately became suspicious of it but said nothing. Finally she muttered in annoyance, getting irked that Kira never even looked up, "It's basically like he becomes a computer himself or something when he gets on that thing. Where's his 'Off' switch?"

Unable to resist the joke, Tolle elbowed the girl gently in the side and said with a stage whisper, barely able to contain his laughter, "I know where his 'On' switch would be."

"Ew, no way." Miriallia started giggling too, not really able to help herself either. She examined the boy with a little smile, knowing he worked hard always, and that was why he was so absorbed in what he was working on. She finally shook her head slowly and sighed dramatically, "You could set off a bomb right beside him and he'd never notice."

"Probably so." Tolle agreed with a smirk, watching Kira more closely. The boy's violet eyes were narrowed in concentration, brow furrowed and lips pursed, looking for all the world like he was working on an atom bomb than an assignment. Cupping his one free hand around his mouth, he called "Kira!" but the boy didn't even spare a glance up at him.

Rolling her eyes and looking very exasperated now, Miriallia marched into the 'shelter', stood behind him and poked him in the sides, hard. The boy jumped with a yelp and she grinned, looking quite smug at having finally captured his attention. "Well hello Kira Yamato, here to stay in reality for a little while?"

Kira Yamato smiled sheepishly, not really knowing if he was to apologize for spacing out or to pretend to be annoyed at her interruption. Deciding he'd be sheepish today, he said pleasantly and apologetically, "Sorry, Professor Kato has me working overtime on this stupid project... I never got to finish it last weekend, I was just working out the kinks in his program..."

"You told me on Friday that you were going to work all weekend, what happened?" Miriallia asked with raised eyebrows, not buying his story one bit and both Kira and Tolle looked sheepish and ducked their heads at her remark. She scowled, crossed her arms and said firmly, "Did you two go out and see a movie this weekend when_ I told you_ to work on your homework?"

"Miri don't be mad, I've been stuck at home all week I needed some time out." Kira protested, using her pet-name in an attempt to calm her down, but she didn't wilt at all. Knowing she was going to kick his ass if he didn't do something to placate her, he hastily added, "But I did do work, see?" He showed her the screen, which currently was showing almost thousands of numbers, letters and complicated formulas.

Miri peered at the screen and then rolled her eyes skyward once more, knowing that he knew she didn't understand what he did for the professor. But she did admit to herself that the professor had been giving Kira a lot of work and he didn't really get many chances to do things other than work. But she didn't say that aloud and told him instead, "Fine, I'll let it slide this time, but you really need to get caught up with the stuff he gives you. It's amazing you can manage to keep your grades above average with all this extra stuff."

"I have to keep my grades above average." Kira pointed out with a little sigh, before noticing Tolle had been staring intently at his laptop screen. "What is it?"

"Another news development?" Tolle asked out loud, pointing to the smaller square on the screen which showed a reporter standing in front of what appeared to be a battlefield. Kira clicked to enlarge the picture, and it was indeed a battlefield, showing a humanoid machine flying just behind a building that the reporter was standing in front of. "Where is this?"

"Taiwan apparently. I think Kaohsiung." Kira replied quietly, and Miri leaned in as the reporter's voice grew louder.

"_I'm within several kilometres of Kaohsiung where the sounds of fierce combat continue to echo."_

Tolle looked startled when he read the date on the bottom of the broadcast and Miri blinked in surprise while Kira merely looked stone-faced. "If that was footage from last week... Kaohsiung probably was already beaten."

"Yeah." Kira agreed quietly, shutting off the computer after saving his work, really not wanting to hear the rest of the details from the report again, having already listened to it several times. He had overcome his shock and know was simply stone about what had happened.

"Kaohsiung isn't very far from us." Miri said slowly, thinking over the details from the report. Sighing quietly, she asked herself, "Will the homeland be alright if Kaohsiung falls? Will they come after us next if they aren't satisfied with what they did?"

"The homeland will be fine. There's nothing to worry about." Tolle told her nonchalantly, looking as though he couldn't be bothered worrying about that. He shrugged and conceded at her disbelieving stare, though he still looked carefree, "Oh they're close for sure, but our nation's neutral. They won't risk attacking us, we've got nothing to do with the war. And I really can't see ORB turning into a war-zone."

"Really...?" Miri still didn't look too certain, though her faith in her homeland's stance was strong, she wasn't too sure about how ZAFT behaved around neutral countries. But she wanted to believe her home would be safe, so she pushed aside her doubts and agreed quietly, "I guess you're right..."

Kira was silent, watching as his winged machine took into the air, flying a circle around the small little building. His memory flashed back to when he had gotten that machine, almost two or so years ago, when he lived in Copernicus with his childhood friend.

_The cherry blossoms were in bloom again, though they weren't the real variety found back on Earth, it was a comforting enough environment. Kira looked at his friend who idly straightened his hat over his navy blue hair, and his normally laughing aqua eyes were slightly troubled. He was holding a mechanical bird in his hands and held them out to Kira. The bird hopped into Kira's hands after a moment, and Kira held it close._

_He smiled at Kira and told him honestly, keeping his voice firm yet hopeful, "PLANTs and Earth will see eye to eye. There won't be a war. The evacuation doesn't mean a thing, it'll be fine." He smiled at the bird, which had jumped on Kira's shoulder and continued hopefully, "You'll come with me to the PLANTs later, won't you?"_

Kira closed his eyes for a moment, relishing the memory as much as he could. He really did miss his friend, he'd found it horribly lonely in Heliopolis when he first came. Thankfully he had met Tolle, Miri, Sai and Kuzzey, the four of them had quickly befriended him and made him feel more at home.

"Kira?"

"Wha!" Kira nearly fell over at the sudden sight of Tolle staring curiously at him. He managed to catch himself by hanging onto the back of the wrap-around bench, and shook his head to clear his thoughts which had turned to static.

"You dreamer." Miri teased, ruffling his hair with her free hand while she held his books in her left arm. "C'mon Kira, we can't keep Professor Kato waiting. He'll be really ticked off if we do."

"Ah, uh, okay!" Kira stammered hastily, getting to his feet and gathering his books as quickly as he could as Miriallia and Tolle raced ahead, laughing at his slow progress. Shoving it all unceremoniously into his bag he shouldered it quickly, jumped the table and chased after them yelling, "Hey wait up!"

**Heliopolis Hanger**

**Earth Alliance Ship**

**2:30 p.m.**

The ship shuddered slightly as the restraining arms from the hanger clasped the olive coloured carrier. Lieutenant Mu La Flaga looked out the window with a little sigh, running his hand through his unruly blond hair. He straightened the blue jacket he was wearing, looking over at his friend who was fast asleep on the bench, looking for all the world like he didn't give a damn about what was going on.

Mu sighed and shook his head, listening to the dark auburn haired man snoring slightly as he slept. He was wearing the exact same attire, a light blue jacket and grey pants, though his jacket as always was unzipped and open, sleeves rolled up and he looked like a casual mess. His scraggly hair as always was also in casual disarray, his normally sharp emerald eyes closed as he snored. Mu spoke to his sleeping friend as he shook his head sadly, "How you can sleep when you're so close to doing what you're going to be doing for the rest of your life is a damn miracle Halberton."

The man continued to snore, casually sprawled out on the hard plastic of the bench from the table. They had been sitting in the Mess Hall, waiting for the order to come to the bridge along with the other five pilots destined for the secret service. His friend had fallen asleep in his boredom, leaving Mu awake and growing nervous about their current position. 'I really don't like being anywhere near a 'Neutral country'. Especially with what's going on, ZAFT could be anywhere and I just bet they are... Hiding in wait for us.'

Finally getting annoyed by his friend's carelessness, he kicked the bench and yelled, "We're under fire!" Halberton promptly woke up cursing and fell off the bench, causing Mu to start snorting with laughter.

"You son of a bitch." Halberton said genially, getting to his feet and cuffing Mu aside the head in an almost brotherly gesture. He rolled his head to the side to crack the bones in his neck back into place, and rolled his shoulders back after, emerald eyes sparkling. "How long was I asleep?"

"About an hour or so you idiot." Mu told him with a smirk, causally ruffling the older man's already mussed hair. He straightened his jacket and told him, "I don't understand you Justin, how can you be so fricken laidback about all of this?"

"Heh." Justin shrugged, not even looking the least bit interested in what was coming next. "It's nothing new, I'm just getting upgraded, what's the big deal? I'm leaving my Moebius behind for bigger and better machines, I really don't get what all the fuss is about."

"You're going to be the first one shot down with that attitude." Mu joked, smirking at Justin's mock insulted expression. He smiled, feeling slightly envious about what Justin was about to do. His friend had been promoted out of the thousands of potentials who had the skill, himself included. He wasn't truly jealous, he understood why, he just was slightly envious. "Really man, at least get a bit serious about what's going to happen out there. It doesn't mean you're indestructible just because you get a G."

"Heh, man I invented the word 'indestructible'." Justin chuckled at this, straightening his shirt. The rustling movement caused the pendant he wore around his neck to fall out of his collar and into sight. With a rueful smile he took the crucifix pendant and put it back underneath his collar. "I'll be fine La Flaga, but you ought to be more careful, your jealousy's showing."

"Burn in hell Halberton." Mu chortled, pulling the man into a headlock and mussing about his already ruffled hair with his free hand. Justin struggled and they exchanged playful punches before the intercom suddenly rang , a cool female voice ringing out.

"_Lieutenants La Flaga and Halberton to the bridge immediately."_

"I guess that's us." Justin said nonchalantly, glancing down at his watch. "Well well, 2:45 already, I guess it's time for us to roll out?"

"For you to roll out, not me." Mu reminded him with a forced smile, knocking him gently on the head as they started walking down the long halls to the bridge. "I'll be heading back to Alaska after all of this calms down, you know that."

"What, are you gonna catch a ride back down to Earth with Charlie and the others?" Justin asked with raised eyebrows, having not expected this. Mu shrugged, not really sure how to answer and Justin looked troubled. "Man, that sucks... You just got back from Alaska, why head back again with the rejects and Charlie? We could use ya here, even if you're piloting a Zero."

"Be nice about Charles, his daughter will come and beat your ass if she heard you badmouthing him." Mu chuckled, knocking Justin on the head once more to add emphasis to the playful warning. "And besides..." The jovial tone he had been using fell and he pocketed his hands, shrugging his shoulders a little, blue eyes dying, "They don't really need me anyway, I was just an escort. After you boys get suited up, you won't be needing me, I'm better off heading back home anyway."

"Back home, feh." Justin grunted in disgust, face pulling in a scowl as his emerald eyes narrowed with dislike. "What's left in your future if you're the last Zero pilot left? They won't need your talent anymore if you never get fit with a real suit, you'll be retired and forgotten before you know it. Then what?"

"No idea. But my orders are to head back to Alaska now that you jackasses got here safely." Mu replied with a little shrug, though his face was stone and his eyes were troubled. 'Justin's right though... If he's gone, it does make me the last Zero pilot in the Alliance, then where am I at? Back in Alaska to twiddle my thumbs till the war's over?' "I was an escort Justin, you knew that. Nothing else. I'm going back to Alaska while you guys get fitted and trained here."

"It's all a load of bullshit." Justin grumbled as they entered the bridge. he changed his attitude in respect to the captain he had been serving under for the past few months and nodded politely his way. "Sir." Mu repeated the action and the man nodded back.

He sighed heavily though in relief, and smiled at the two young men, tossing his cap away and it spun in the zero gravity. Running his hand through his very short dry blond hair he said to the young men in a faint accent, "Well, it looks like the last mission this old girl will ever see is completed. It was a long run, but it worked out without a hitch... You served admirably Lieutenant La Flaga, I'm grateful you came along like you did."

"No thanks needed Captain." Mu told him with a wave of his hand, and Justin rolled his eyes and looked away. Mu continued in a more forced cheerful tone, noticing his friend's obvious annoyance, "I'm just glad it went without incident..." He looked towards the still open hatch of the hanger which led to the outside of the colony and asked, "Are there any ZAFT vessels in the area?"

"There's two but it's nothing to worry about." The captain replied airily, waving his hand as he gestured to the screen with his other. Justin immediately scowled and Mu's eyes darkened and narrowed as he looked at the screen. The man shook his head at the suspicious looks on their faces and told them almost tiredly, "You know they can't initiate in any hostile actions, mainly firing on us while we're docked here."

"Because it's Neutral territory?" Mu asked in a slightly scathing and sarcastic tone, looking incredibly unconvinced. "That's a joke."

The man laughed, clearly amused by the lack of belief in the young man's tone, Justin had snorted in agreement, both thoroughly unconvinced in their safety. "You know it's thanks to them our plans have gone so far anyway. We're fortunate that the Earth Alliance has recognized them as all but a nation."

"ORB wouldn't be too happy if they heard you speaking about them like that. Especially considering where we are." Justin commented wryly, gesturing to the hanger they were currently sitting in. "Whether or not the Earth Forces consider them a nation doesn't mean they don't pack the political power of one."

The captain shrugged idly, as if to dismiss the topic and he looked down at his watch and said cheerily, "Well, I'm afraid that'll be all the time left. You six ought to be heading down to the G Units."

Justin didn't move though the other five young men already had ventured towards the elevators and began disappearing. He glanced over at his friend who merely shrugged, then back to his soon-to-be former captain. "Uh... Sir, I don't know if..."

"Go on Halberton, you have to go." Mu told him with a wry little smile, thumping him good-naturedly on the back. "If it makes ya feel better I'll walk ya out, that is if I'm allowed." He added, glancing back at his superior who shrugged once but nodded.

Justin shook his head but Mu followed him down to the elevator anyway, and they spoke for a few moments about what was in store for either of them.

"What's the name of the ship you're supposed to be on after getting suited up?" Mu asked again, watching Justin roll his eyes, and he smiled sheepishly. He already knew, he really did just want an excuse to talk to him for a few more minutes.

"The ArchAngel, Mu. And you already knew that." Justin said wearily, dragging his hand down his face and spotting his friend's sheepish grin. 'He wants to stall.' But he wasn't interested in stalling any longer, if he had to go he wanted to just go faster. "And I'm set to pilot the GAT-X105 Strike. What other obvious questions do you want answered?"

Mu rolled his eyes and shrugged, understanding Justin's growing sour attitude. Justin was glaring at the wall, appearing to be even more irked than he was before. "Are you really happy with the path you chose? Cause you look pissed to me."

"When I want your opinion I'll give it to you La Flaga." Justin growled under his breath, gloved hands curling into fists at his sides.

"Don't snap at me man, I just asked you a simple question." Mu retorted with raised eyebrows, startled a bit by the snap.

"Yes, I'm pissed off. I didn't think we'd end up getting separated again, I'm kind of sick and tired of being on my own." Justin grumbled, shoving his hands unceremoniously into his pockets, glaring at the wall. "What am I supposed to do on my own again? Those idiots are just kids. I'll go insane after two days."

"I'd sneak onboard with ya but I'd probably end up getting my ass thrown out." Mu joked weakly, and Justin smiled back just as weakly, glad that somebody was trying for a little levity. "It's better than heading back to Alaska all over again, stuck behind a damn desk."

"Touche..." Justin sighed, running his hand lazily over his face once more, now glancing up at the ceiling. Justin smirked a bit and said to attempt a joke, "I bet you anything the captain's going to wind up being a real hardass."

"Then maybe I won't sneak on." Mu chuckled, amused by the attempt, at least he was trying. He looked thoughtful then smirked and said cheerfully, "Big tough hardass guy, eh? Alright then, let's make it a bet. Ten bucks that you're screwed with one real jackass of a captain."

"Well you just made me a whole lot happier about going on the ship." Justin replied with a roll of his eyes, but he was grinning. "Okay, if you're wrong, I get the ten." Mu smirked and they shook hands on the bet before the elevator stopped at the opening. "I guess this is it."

"Take care man, I'll see you in Alaska." Mu said cheerfully, whacking his friend gently in the shoulder and earned a faux-punch to his in return.

"See you."

**Vesalius**

**Bridge**

"Try not to look so frustrated Ades. It really isn't necessary."

Captain Fredrik Ades watched his commanding officer float from the lower part of the bridge up to the upper deck, examining a few scattered photographs on the map. The man was tall, taller then he was and skinny, almost oddly so. He had long wavy bleached blond hair, but his eyes and most of the upper part of his face was concealed behind a white mask. Ades sighed and said wearily, "Well I don't imagine it'd be too late if we waited to hear back from the council at least."

"It would be too late. I have a sixth sense about these things..." Commander Rau Le Creuset replied in that oddly quiet tone of his, his expression remaining hidden behind those blue glass eyes in the mask. He waved a gloved hand and tossed one of the pictures of the supposedly "top-secret" G units towards Ades, who snatched it out of the air and examined it with a stone face. Rau nearly smiled, though it was too hard to tell and added, "If we don't seize the moment now, while we have the chance in our grasps, we _will_ pay for it with our lives for our reluctance. We must secure those new weapons from the Earth Forces before they are moved to a new location and we lose sight of them again."

"I suppose you're right in saying that Commander Le Creuset..." Ades replied with a short sigh, glancing down at the floor where the future pilots, or future dead, were waiting for the shuttles to take off. "I suppose you're right."

Down below the pilots readied themselves into their suits, and entered the shuttles with little words spoken between them. They boarded the shuttles quickly and calmly, still no words being spoken, as if they were scared to speak among each other.

Boarding the shuttles took only a minute or two, and then the shuttles were off, zooming towards Heliopolis at a surprising speed. The first shuttle of the two hit the surface and scattered the two pods it had been carrying, the second close behind. The pods snapped open with a quiet hiss, releasing the ten soldiers who had been inside. Six of them were wearing red uniforms the other four clothed in a dark green.

One of the reds halted before a large square passage, red lights sparkling inside of the darkened square. Upon closer inspection they were motion-activated lasers, burning their bright red colour almost in warning. The first red looked down at his watch, which read "1:00" in minutes. The colour switched to orange and suddenly the lasers simply went out.

Not wasting any time the ten flew into the square with aid from their backpacks with propelled them forwards with surprising ease. The first red halted at a cross-roads of sorts, looking around almost inquisitively. Then it signalled to the group, which promptly split up into threes, four heading down right, three heading straight and the other three heading left, all in complete silence.

The group of three which had headed to the straight went quickly, each holding a pack with numbers and letters inscribed into what looked like keys. They flew through the open hatches, now having each split up themselves. The first green set the pad as silently as he could onto a box which resembled a fuse box. Typing a quick combination onto the keys, the pad's green light turned red with the four numbers glowing eerily; "10:00".

The other two quickly placed their pads into position, and then flew off to rejoin their comrades which had already met up back at the crossroads, then all began to head straight once more.

Down below, in one of the meeting rooms deeper inside of the laboratory...

"Who's that Sai?" Kira asked quietly, gesturing over his shoulder to the blond figure who had been leaning on the wall and calmly watching the group. The person hadn't moved since they had come in, nor had they said anything, merely adjusted their cap, kept their tawny eyes either on the floor or on the ceiling.

Sai Argyle shrugged weakly, looking over at the person for a moment before back to his friend, adjusting his orange-tinted glasses calmly. "I don't really know, the professor told me they were asked to wait here, that's all I was told... But here, this is yours, isn't it?" He reached into his pocket and handed Kira a desk.

Kira examined the disk with a weak smile and sighed, "I guess this is more to the program Professor Kato gave me earlier... I'm really kinda getting tired of all this work..." He spotted Miriallia, Tolle, and Kuzzey, a blue haired young boy who was also one of their friends, talking and laughing in the far corner by a computer.

"Was it work from Morgenroete like the last time?" Sai asked with interest, having been told all about what his friend had been doing to help out with the professor's work. It had seemed like high priority, which was leaving the brunette boy exhausted. "Or something new?"

Kira examined the disk and then shrugged, saying mostly to himself, "It's probably just new work for the frame module or something like that, hopefully it's not too much work like last time, I'm still working out the kinks in the last program the Professor gave me, he's really piling it on... I think it's just a program analysis this time, he probably wants me to check it over."

"Y'know I really think you'd be better off if he just hired you." Sai chuckled, straightening his glasses and handing Kira one of the work laptops that he had been saving for him. "At least that way you'd get paid for all the work you do. Or do you get extra-credit for this stuff?"

"I wish." Kira laughed out loud, slipping in the disk into the laptop and taking a seat on the edge of the table. "I don't get money or extra-credit, all I get is exhausted. Mom says I should just refuse to help him."

"Maybe you should listen to her." Sai advised, examining the tired look on Kira's face as he began to read the code on the laptop's screen. His violet eyes were running down the list, and he had gotten that serious look on his face again. "How are things?"

"Beside all the work I'm doing? And aside from being exhausted? I'm doing alright." Kira replied with a hint of a smile, and Sai chuckled knowingly. "And how about you Sai? Things going okay with Flay Alster?"

Sai's smile faded a little and he said weakly, "I don't think there's any 'thing' to be going well. She doesn't reply to any of my emails or letters, I think it's time for me to give up." Kira looked sympathetic, and Sai smiled slightly, happy to see someone wasn't going to tell him he should be pushing more. "Oh well, I suppose I can try again one more time, but... I am sixteen, I do have my life ahead of me. And besides," He nudged his friend and teased, "maybe you can ask her instead."

"Between my schoolwork, homework, and this work, how in the world am I going to handle a girlfriend?" Kira asked in an exaggerated tone of voice, and Sai started chuckling again which caused Kira to smile, happy to see his friend in better spirits. "Ah, besides, it was a stupid crush two years ago, I'm over it. And I really don't need a girlfriend, I'm way too busy as it is."

"That's probably true." Sai laughed, and the two continued to talk cheerfully, glad to get their minds off of their own troubles for the moment. As they spoke, a sudden rumbling sound caught their attention, followed by a thunderous explosion and the entire lab shook violently.

"Holy shit!" Kira cried out in surprise, nearly toppling out of his chair. He spotted Miri getting to her feet, looking baffled, everyone else was just as confused as he was about the sudden tremor. "What the hell was that?"

"A meteor hitting the colony?" Sai asked, adjusting his glasses which had flown askew from the force of the shock. "Or..." He met Kira's eyes and they both said at the same time; "Something else?"

Kira got to his feet, and on silent agreement the five teenagers rushed outside, hoping to see something that could have caused the huge tremor, or at least find some news on what had happened. As they ran down the hall, Kira's shoulder brushed a young woman's, and he whirled around to apologize, "I'm sorry."

"Just keep moving, you don't want to be here." The young woman answered grimly, her dark grey eyes narrowed, pale face drawn as if in exhaustion and tension, looking incredibly pale against her dark hair. "Trust me. Get the hell out."

"Are you–" Kira made to say, but he stopped himself, staring at her in puzzlement. He looked as though he recognized her, but he didn't know where. "Do I..." He started, but another tremor shook the building, and by the time he straightened, the dark haired girl was gone. "What the..."

"Kira, c'mon!"

"I don't know, it might not be safe to go outside." Kira said quickly, the place shaking again. The lights overhead flickered and died out, and he looked around, eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness. "We should really go somewhere safer, I don't like this at all."

The group headed to the stairs, and that was when Kira realized the young blond had disappeared from their group. "What the..." Turning around, he swore he saw a flash of blond hair around the corner. "What happened to the professor's visitor?"

"No idea, I think they took off when the tremors started." Sai replied, opening the door to the stairs by using the emergency codes. People were filing up the stairs, each one looking more nervous than the last. Confused, he asked, "What's going on?"

"We're being attacked by ZAFT!" A panicked man cried out, and the man behind him shoved him out of his way and continued to hurry up the stairs. The first man continued hastily, voice shuddering with fear, "They just dropped out of nowhere on the colony! We're all being evacuated, you better come too!"

"Dammit, I'm going to look for that kid!" Kira swore, turning on his heel to run back to where he saw the flash of yellow hair. He felt Miri grab his sleeve, and she looked terrified at him leaving. With a weak smile he gently pried her grip from his arm and told her seriously, "I'll be alright, just go on without me, I'll be right back. Promise." With that said, he took off at a run down the hall towards the factories.

It didn't take long, he knew the factory inside and out. He spotted the figure running full tilt down the left hall, towards a dead end. Striding faster he caught up with them, hastily grabbing them by the arm, "Hey! Stop running, it's a dead end! Why did you take off?"

Tugging their arm away, the blond fixed a deadly glare on him with their startling tawny eyes. "Stop tailing me. You best catch up with the others before this whole place collapses." As if on cue, a huge shockwave of dust nearly blew the both of them over, knocking the girl's cap clean off, revealing choppily cut but silky blond hair.

Kira blinked, a bit startled by what was hidden under the cap. "You're a..." He stammered, still startled, having assumed they were a boy from the way they carried themselves, "A girl..."

"Yeah, what'd you think I was?" The girl replied with a snap to her voice, crossing her arms and looking very annoyed. "Well? Let's hear it!"

"N-Nothing, I just assumed..." Kira began hastily, blushing a little in embarrassment. He looked around, the blast had knocked out the east wall, where he had just come from. 'I'm effectively cut off from the others...' "Now what..." He noticed the girl had started walking again, right towards the dead end he had tried to stop her from taking. "Hey!" He called in surprise, hurrying forwards once more, grabbing her arm again, "Where do you think you're going?"

"I need to confirm something with my own eyes. On my own." The girl replied stubbornly, yanking her arm away, her glare enough to wither roses or set something ablaze.

"And what about me? How am I going to get back to the other block?" Kira asked skeptically, but she only scowled and looked away, as if saying it was his own fault for following her. He admit inwardly at her look, 'I shouldn't have followed her if I wanted to stay away, but...' "Alright, fine then..." Looking around, he called up his mental map of the entire building. 'The factory block should be that way...' "The factory block should still have shelters left... C'mon." Taking her by the arm he took off at a quick run down the right hall.

"Wait, I–" The girl tried to argue but faded into silence, running behind him with surprising speed of her own. She mumbled under her breath, "I just didn't think... We'd get involved..."

"Don't worry." Kira told her firmly, keeping as much reassurance as he possibly could in his voice to keep both her and his spirits up, "We'll be fine, just keep running."

**Other End of the Factory**

"You have _got_ to be kidding me!" The woman snarled violently under her breath, throwing herself down for the tenth time in the past two minutes, hands busily reloading her gun as the gunfire erupted like thunder over her head. She felt the many scrapes in her hands and knees ring angrily in pain, but she ignored it, focussing on the sudden flurry of ZAFT soldiers that had suddenly materialized out of nowhere.

'They're after the G units.' She could still hear her friend's voice in her ears, ringing almost as loudly as the gunshots that had killed him seconds later. She didn't have time to mourn her fallen comrades, if she didn't act quickly she'd soon join them. She loaded her gun again, taking careful aim, before another flurry of gunfire had her ducking for cover. "Dammit!"

She glanced over her shoulder, at the three units that were lying just beyond her line of sight. She swore again. There were just too many soldiers, she didn't have a chance at running for it to get one out herself. 'This is insanity. I can't believe we let our defences down this much...' She glanced over her shoulder again, trying to gauge the distance between herself and the closest G unit. Still too far.

She took a deep breath, steeling herself for what she was about to do. Roaring a string of curses she stood up and emptied her barrel, hoping to at least hit someone and take them out for a few precious moments. Chaos. She ducked again as soon as return gunfire shot back at her, followed by a tremendous crash that knocked her clean off her feet.

"What the hell!?" Yelling, she scrambled back to her feet, and that was when she saw two machines lifting themselves to their feet frown the second factory district. She paled, only able to really stare up at the machines in shock. 'X-103 and X-102... The X-207 was over there too...' Much to her horror, she watched the machine get up moments later as well, and she felt as though her stomach had dropped out of her.

There were three left now, and she looked around hurriedly, counting the seconds down in her head. She watched from the safety of her cover as the three units flew off, leaving a mess of destruction behind them, and she inwardly winced when she thought of the number of dead that there was now. 'Too many to count right now... If I keep thinking about this I'll never make it out of here... There's the X-106, 105 and 303 to worry about. I need to put them first.'

Biting her lower lip as she reloaded her gun again, she captured her fear and locked it away, deciding to worry about it some other time. 'Alright Murrue... Breathe... Now!' She threw herself over the wall, hands steady as she unloaded her clip again, and much to her satisfaction she watched as her last shot slammed into a red's stomach and sent the soldier flying over the X-105' s leg. He didn't get back up.

"Rusty!"

She turned as quickly as she could, but she wasn't fast enough to dodge the bullet that just scraped her shoulder and she fell back. The other ZAFT soldier was standing there, smoking gun in his hand as it was aimed for her heart. Her gun clattered out of her hand when she fell, and she didn't make a move to try and grab it, it was already empty. And she knew the other soldier knew that. He aimed his gun.

She closed her eyes, and mentally recited a brief prayer, waiting for the bullet to come and end her life. It didn't come, instead a thunderous explosion rang out and she twisted to lie on her stomach, hands flying over her head to protect herself. When she looked back up the ZAFT soldier was already gone, a twisted heap of metal lying a bit away from the 106. She raised her eyebrows, alarmed by the destroyed machine. 'That was one of ours... Dammit.'

She spotted another one of her own lying dead a few metres away, and quickly ran over to relieve the corpse of its gun. She carefully ignored the corpse's face, knowing if she looked she might just break down and ignore the world around her until she herself was shot. She ran.

It was a quick enough sprint, she made it to the 105's leg quicker then she figured she could make it, and heard the yells of surprised soldiers all around her. She steadied her gun, and began firing all over again.

"Father you betrayed us all!"

The shout made her turn, her soldier's instincts screaming at her to shoot, but she froze when she looked up to the second level of the building that amazingly still had survived. There were two children up there, a blond kneeling on the floor, seeming to be in tears, the second was a brunette boy, who pulled her up and they began to run to the shelters.

"Kids? What are kids doing out here?" She wondered out loud, temporarily distracted from the chaos around her by the sudden appearance of children in the middle of a battle zone. "That isn't normal."

Up in the stairs, Kira hastily tugged the girl along behind him, frantically searching for the doors to the shelter. He could tell she was still upset, something that baffled him entirely. He hadn't understood her outburst when she saw the humanoid machines in the factory, though it had surprised him, it had completely upset her. She seemed to know much more then she was letting on, and as much as he'd have liked to pull her aside and ask questions, he had no time.

He finally found the door to the shelter, and pounded angrily on the intercom. She sniffled behind him, wiping her eyes dry on her sleeve and fixing that stubborn expression back on her face. The box squawked suddenly, and he yelled over the din behind him, "We need shelter!"

"_But we're uh... We're full down here."_

"Then take my friend, she needs it more then I do, I can make it across the district!" Kira yelled in frustration, hitting the closed doors with a closed fist, amethyst eyes burning in anger. "Please!"

There was a hesitant silence, as if they were debating what to do. Finally the voice whispered, _"Fine, we can take her."_

"Get in." He said roughly, gesturing to the now open doors of the shelter, but she just stared at him with wide tawny eyes, uncomprehending what he meant. Not having time but wishing he did, he seized her wrist and easily pushed her into the small slot, tying the belt for her.

Now she understood his intent, and quickly began thrashing to try and get loose. "No!" She gasped, trying to get at the belt but he was too quick for her, forcing her wrists at her sides. "You can't, what about you?!"

"I can make it across the district, just get in!" Kira exclaimed fiercely, slamming his hand on the button that would seal the doors. She had no time, he didn't let her go until the doors hissed, and then she was pulled down and out of sight. He sighed softly, allowing himself one moment for relief.

A thunderous roar had him running again, and he hissed softly under his breath as the gunshots had him ducking every so often. It was so chaotic, he had no idea if it was him being shot at or not. He looked down from the rafters, spotting explosions that covered the ground in black and grey smoke.

"Lieutenant Ramius!"

He skidded to a stop, suddenly spotting a brunette in the rubble, hiding behind a crate as gunfire continued to shriek overhead. He could see another soldier calling to her, trying to get her to run across the open battlefield for better security. Behind her, a green coated soldier was loading a gun, aiming directly for the space between her shoulder-blades, it was a perfect shot.

He reacted instinctively, and yelled over the din, "Behind you!" The brunette whirled, gun in hand and fired a single shot. The green soldier fell with a grunt of pain, he didn't get back up.

"That kid?" Murrue murmured to herself, looking up to see him standing there with a look of relief on his scared face. She felt a moment of gratitude, but she quickly pushed it aside, having no time to worry about something that insignificant when her life was on the line.

"Ugn!"

She turned, Bryan had been killed. Pain echoed in her chest, but she hid that as well, reloading her gun and firing for the shooter who'd killed him. 'Dammit! Another one gone.' The shooter fell, helmet cracked by the expert shot in between the eyes. She looked around hastily, trying to find a way through the mess of scraps, bodies and weapons to find a clear run.

She dove, and made it by a hair before more gunfire erupted, hitting the metal with metallic thuds that echoed harshly in her ears. Shaking hands holding her gun tightly, she turned and waited until the gunfire ceased to return fire herself. She didn't wait to see if she'd hit anything, she ducked immediately to reload and wait out another silent period.

The silence stretched, and she took a quick peek over the edge of the container. No gunfire. She didn't breathe, staying silent. The seconds ticked by, feeling like hours. The silence remained. She took a breath. Now she looked over her shoulder, where the kid had been. He still stood there, eyes wide. "Hey!" She yelled up to him, voice echoing in the now eerie silence, "Come here!"

"Don't worry about me!" Kira yelled back, voice much more hoarse than usual as he tried to get the image of the dead soldier out of his mind. He shook his head, forcing himself to take the image out of his head and back to the matter at hand. "I'm going to the shelters in the left block!"

Murrue inwardly winced, shaking her head and calling back, "There's nothing left behind that door!" If he'd been hoping to get away from the gunfire, he was sorely mistaken. The G units and soldiers had made short but easy work of the rest of the blocks, it was all a mess of rubble and bodies.

Another explosion rocked the factory, she dove down before realizing it had struck the corner where the kid had been. He was on his back, staring at the flaming debris in horror. 'He has no idea what he's dealing with, does he?' Sympathy made her wince, but she shortened it, becoming a soldier again. There was time to deal with emotions later, she couldn't feel now. She had to act. "Come down here!"

Much to her horror he looked down, as if measuring the distance between the rafters to the floor. He placed his hands on the railings, took a deep breath and threw himself over the edge. He landed on his feet, then fell to his knees, she was sure he'd broken something.

He got to his feet hurriedly, looking as though it had been nothing. She gaped at him, shocked. 'That was... Suicidal... What the hell was he thinking?' She shook the disbelief from her head, looking around hurriedly. It was at least a hundred metre dash to get to the nearest G Unit, if they made it there they would be relatively safe... 'Better all or nothing in this hand of poker Ramius.' She reminded herself bluntly.

He raced alongside her, she had to throw him down more than once when gunfire burst out. She placed a gun in his hand but he never fired it, she kept hers up and aimed at all times. They made it to the leg, she tossed him up before following as quickly as she could, shoulder screaming in pain by the time she forced herself up.

She heard an oath of pain and whirled around, seeing her fellow soldier shot in the neck and fall to his knees, only for another bullet to hit him square in the head. "Hamana!"

And then a bullet shrieked by her ear, embedding itself deep in her already injured shoulder before passing all the way through. Her knees gave in and she fell.

"No!" Kira yelled, bounding back as quickly as he could to the fallen woman's side, seeing the blood beginning to stain her orange jumpsuit. The soldier threw away his gun, pulling out a knife instead and he jumped up onto the unit's leg to finish the job. He got to his feet, arms outstretched protectively as he stood in front of the woman. 'Not on your life!'

And then time froze. His eyes widened as the soldier stopped dead in is feet in front of him, greenish blue eyes reflecting the shock and horror of his violet ones. "A... Athrun...?"

"Kira?"

Murrue hissed under her breath, forcing herself to ignore the pain and she lifted her gun. The red suited soldier bounded away, and she swore softly, getting to her feet. She stumbled, and felt the kid's arm wrap around her to steady her. She shot him a grateful look, and he helped her to the centre of the suit, where the cockpit was. It hissed open when she pressed the release hidden below the armour, and she jumped inside, and he followed.

The X-105 Strike came to life, eyes flickering gold as the world around it continued to become engulfed in flames. Another explosion rocked the hanger, anyone left inside was dead now. The Strike stood, cables from the back snapping off as it stood, the metal manacles around its feet breaking with snaps. The fire burned, and in the middle of the intense glow of the flames, the golden eyes stared out. Ready for battle.

**AN**

**My god (falls over and groans) I got the first chapter done and I honestly hate it, lmao. Now I have to write out battle scenes, may god strike me down if he loves me now. Yeah I know, I rushed things, I took things out, I screwed things up, I couldn't get it all in without shooting twenty pages at least. T.T It's things like this that make me wanna quit writing, lol. As I was reminded (thank you) I should clarify something. GSE (first work) is NOT playing a role in the series, as in it doesn't go GSF, GSD and then GSE, GSE was it's own story with no connection to this work. Now that I've got that cleared up... PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Sky**


	3. Phase 2

Its Name Is Gundam

PHASE 02

The 105 flew awkwardly out of the plant as it erupted into flames and smoke behind, the X-303 following. The two machines landed facing each other, the steel grey colours matching. The 303 took a dainty leap backwards to land, shaking the ground with its weight while the 105 landed unevenly, staggering forwards on unsteady legs.

"Shit..." Murrue muttered under her breath, tightening her hands around the machine's controls until her shoulder ached with the effort. The machine stumbled back unsteady again, it was a fight to keep it straight. The 303 stood unsure directly opposite of them, and then another mobile flew in between them, landing angled between the 303 and themselves.

"Athrun!" The pilot called cheerfully to the boy, face appearing on his screen.

"Rusty failed, Miguel." Athrun said grimly to his comrade, voice shaking a little over the communications link. His eyes narrowed a little, remembering the shot that had killed his friend. The pilot of the unit opposite of him had done it. His mind froze for a moment, as he realized just who else was also inside. 'Kira... Could it really be... You?'

"_You'll come with me to the PLANTs later, won't you?"_

"What happened to Rusty?" Miguel demanded angrily, hands curling around his controls impulsively. "And if he failed, who the hell's inside the 105?"

"Rusty was... Shot down." Athrun answered hesitantly, wincing as each word passed through his lips. He pulled his keyboard across his lap, hastily beginning to type as the letters G.U.N.D.A.M crossed the screen in yellow and blue letters. "The other unit, the 105, it's being piloted by an Earth Forces officer, we didn't get to it in time."

"Is that so?" Miguel asked through grit teeth, expertly moving his controls to pull out the gun that rested across his mobile's hips. He adjusted it and aimed. "Fine then, I'll deal with it!" He fired.

"God dammit!" Murrue yelled angrily, the shell struck the 105's leg with impressive force, sending it staggering backwards. A startled cry from the boy caught her attention, and his handhold on the iron bar above slipped and he fell literally into her lap. She hastily shoved him aside, moving her arms back roughly to try and stabilize the machine. 'This is harder than it looks...'

"Athrun!" Miguel called to his friend, locking his weapon before placing it back neatly behind him, "Finish the upgrades, then get outta here with that machine. I'll capture this one myself." With a fluid movement he took out the blade on the mobile's opposite hip, brandishing it expertly before charging.

"Oh no you don't!" Hissing, Murrue hit the thrusters, and the 105 took into the air for a short moment, narrowly avoiding the blow. The entire machine shook with the effort, nearly stumbling again. It straightened again, the weight of the controls proving harder to handle.

The GINN was charging again, moving much too quickly to be avoided this time. Sword held high, the mobile jumped into the air, and flew down straight at them.

"Ahh!" Kira cried out, eyes widening in shock at the machine grew bigger in the camera, bringing down certain death on him.

'I'm not dying here!' Murrue growled inwardly, eyes quickly sweeping over the controls. 'Start up, menu, main weapons...' The memory of the map of controls came back clearly into her mind as adrenalin continued to surge through her bloodstream. It was too close now. 'There!' She hurriedly reached forward, pressing the yellow switch that roamed the keyboard.

Colour suddenly flooded the grey and darker grey machine, the main body's armour turning a brilliant white as navy blue coloured the cockpit area. In a hurried movement the 105's arms were lifted, taking the blow between the cross made from its arms. Sparks flew into the air and a loud dangerous hiss filled their ears.

"This mobile suit's armour..." Kira said quietly, unable to believe his eyes. The sword's blow had been absorbed easily as though the armour had suddenly really become activated, taking the blow with little effort, only creating angry sparks. He heard a muffled moan of pain from below, and spotted the woman's sleeve now entirely coated with blood, a sheen of sweat on her forehead from the controlled strength she was using to stay conscious. 'She's hurt badly.'

"What the hell is with this thing!?" Miguel cursed angrily, kicking the 105 away from him, flying backwards quickly. "That armour blocked my blow! What's going on!?"

"It's called PHASE Shift armour, Miguel. All the units are equipped with it. Your sword's useless." Athrun warned him wearily, unsure of how the pilot had known to activate it just in time. Part of him breathed a silent sigh of relief, though anger creased his brow. 'This is frustrating! Kira... Are you in there or not?' He activated his own, and the 303 was immediately dyed crimson, save for the yellow and darker coloured joints.

An alert whined in his ears, and he turned hastily to see two missiles flying towards them. With ease he pressed two controls on his armrests and jerked his controls back to turn the 303 towards them. Gunfire erupted from the 303's head, easily destroying the missiles in mid-flight.

Grey smoke billowed out from the destroyed weapons, but the ringing of the alert didn't cease. He turned the 303 again, the sensors picking up a tank racing towards the trio of mobile units. He fluidly gripped his controls again, squeezing the trigger almost casually.

The gunfire erupted from its head again, lining down the cement before striking the car with impressive speed. The machine exploded into a fiery inferno once, before exploding again as the fuel ignited. 'Too easy...'

"Athrun, get out of here now and deliver that machine. You can't waste time here." Miguel ordered his comrade, eyes narrowing as he tightened his grip on his controls, glaring at the other machine. "Now Athrun!"

He hesitated. Athrun's gaze magnetically flicked over to the 105, which was still standing immobile, as if waiting for the next attack on still unsteady feet. 'Kira...' But his friend's voice rang in his ears, and he couldn't deny the logic behind his words. He had to go.

Swearing quietly, he roughly handled his controls and the 303 flew off into the air with easy lift, spiralling away and out of sight.

'It's gone.' Murrue thought uneasily, stomach churning as the hot blood from her shoulder continued to lazily trickle down her arm now. 'But that other one...' "Damn!" It was making another rush now.

Hands hard on the controls she jerked back fiercely, causing the 105 to respond clumsily. It took an uneasy step back, and the GINN fell on its feet nose to nose with the machine, sword still held tightly in its hand. It lashed out violently, hitting the 105 directly in the torso.

The 105 staggered back ungainly, having trouble regaining its ground. The GINN took quick advantage of that, lashing out twice more, each blow glancing off harmlessly, not able to make much more than scratches in the coloured armour, but the force enough to knock the enemy unit back.

Another blow, leaving a hissing roar in its wake as the force caused the 105 to stumble again. The GINN danced back, as if taunting its opponent. It hit the thrusters, roaring blue sparks falling back as it flew hard towards the 105, sword gleaming in the artificial sun.

"Not this time you don't!" Murrue roared angrily, and she squeezed her own triggers this time, gunfire erupted from the 105's head, striking the unprepared GINN in the shoulder.

'The calibration's off, she was aiming for the cockpit and it went too wide. The GINN is just too fast!' Kira inwardly commented, wincing backwards as the GINN charged forward once more, sword singing through the air as it slashed.

The 105 lifted its arm in defence, but the attempt didn't work as well as before, the GINN was prepared this time and lashed out with a punch to the 105's head. It staggered back again, crashing into the building that stood behind. The building crumbled and groaned under the 105's weight before giving in and caving in on itself, taking the suit with it.

"It doesn't matter how good your armour is." Miguel taunted with a snort, settling back as the 105 unsteadily got to its feet, the pieces of debris hitting the ground as the building continued to cave in, sending civilians running for cover. He held his sword with both hands now, preparing the lunge forward again. "If you can barely move that mobile suit's useless!" He pounced.

The 105 took a step backwards, approaching the crowd of civilians that had stopped to see the fight, foolishly risking their lives. Kira froze, recognizing the faces in the crowd that were watching in spellbound horror. 'Miriallia, Tolle, Sai!' the 105 took another step back, too close this time. Without thinking he lunged around the seat in front of the brunette, and pushed a red button which brought the 105 to its knees.

The sword harmlessly glanced off of its shoulder, sending a flurry of sparks as it narrowly missed impaling the other's head. He reached forward again, pushing the thruster forward. The 105 lurched in response, and then charged reminiscent of a football player, its shoulder hitting square with the GINN's chest. The GINN flew backwards when the force hit, landing in a pile of rubble.

"How did you..." Murrue started, eyes wide in shock as the boy moved the 105 to a standing position again with little effort, eyes still calmly focussed on the screen ahead. "What...?"

"There's way too many innocent people around here still." Kira grunted under his breath, moving the keyboard awkwardly to his knee, examining the screen with calculated interest as number and letter combinations began to scroll down. "I won't let them get hurt if I can make better use of this thing!"

He examined the incomplete formulas, frown becoming deeper as he realized the entire system wasn't completed. He watched from the corner of his eye as the GINN hesitantly began to try to stand up, the rubble making it difficult. "This is insane, how can you expect to run this thing with an incomplete OS?"

"It wasn't at the completion stage, there's nothing we can do about it." Murrue mumbled softly in her superior's defence, knowing it more than likely useless to say anything.

The GINN was up now, facing them directly. Kira growled, he couldn't get everything finished the way he was sitting. "Please move aside, I need to finish this!" She looked startled but nodded, hastily sliding out of the seat to the opposite side, and he quickly took her place, keyboard now resting in his lap.

'This kid... He's...' She watched with some awe as his fingers blazed across the keyboard, becoming blurs as he typed. He muttered to himself the entire time, eyes scanning the screen as numbers and letters scrolled down the screen, much too fast for her to read. The words he spoke made no sense to her, she could only watch in shock as he continued to work, the codes coming on the screen continuing to race with his speech.

The GINN was up again, and racing fast towards them. It covered quick ground, leaving only a trail of sparks in its wake from its thrusters. Kira stiffened, eyes narrowing as he both heard and saw it approach. Then his hands found the controls and he squeezed the triggers. Another flurry of gunfire exploded from the 105's head, striking the GINN head-on.

It slowed, more out of a surprise than the actual force of the bullets, coming to an awkward stop scant away from the 105. Then it seemed to freeze before coiling again, it pounced again with more speed than before, sword singing its deadly song through the air.

Kira jerked on the controls with a disconcertingly fast motion, the 105 angled to the side, easily avoiding the sword and then with its other shoulder it punched. the 105's hand sank into the GINN's 'face', sending a rush of red sparks into the air coupled with the sound of crunching metal under its fist.

The GINN flew backwards, this time the force sent it into the next building, taking it down along with it. Kira didn't waste time, quickly resuming his typing, muttering quietly to himself as he applied the directions to the system. The screen changed constantly with his typing, and he kept the steady pace up.

He didn't stop typing, well aware of the stunned silence of the woman in the corner, but he ignored that too. 'C'mon... Nearly... There...' The main screen appeared once more, the large black words rolling across the centre; 'SYSTEM UPGRADED' he took time to breathe a sigh of relief.

More fire erupted suddenly, hitting the 105 with impressive force. He forced his hands outward, steadying the shaking mobile suit. He grit his teeth, eyes narrowing and then pressed his foot down to activate the thrusters. He pressed forward with his hand and the 105 jumped into the air, thrusters burning blue.

The gunfire followed, and suddenly the GINN was in the air as well, following with a deafening roar of more gunfire. He swore, clicking the link to offensive weapons, hurriedly scrolling down the screen at it loaded. Only two icons appeared, the bold print making it seem larger than it really was. 'Vulcan Guns and Assault Knives?' "That's all there is?!"

He landed, and the GINN was right on his tail, ready to stab again. But a sudden explosion of gunfire struck the GINN's shoulder, sending it flying backwards. "What?" He turned the 105 quickly, and his eyes widened at what he saw.

Another mobile suit stood by the corner of the ruined building, similar white frame but with a blue and grey armour scheme. It resembled the 105's basic body structure but the armour seemed thicker on the shoulder, leg, and chest. It held two knives in each hand, small plumes of smoke twirling over its head, green eyes blazing.

A chuckle suddenly sounded in their ears, and a friendly voice called cheerfully, "Calvary's here!"

* * *

"Dammit!" Mu roared as his hands yanked hard on his units' controls, jerking forwards to get a harder thrust from the Zero as he raced after Creuset's white and grey mobile. It moved in a breakneck fashion, trying to avoid the four gun-barrels he was using to chase after him.

He inwardly winced when he realized he was alone again, it was just him and Creuset fighting each other now. He'd watched as soon as the gunfire began as Halberton ran back to the ship, securing his Moebius alongside him.

They had launched together and held the fort for only a few precious minutes before explosions from inside the colony alerted them. the attack outside was simply a diversion.

"_Somebody's gotta get in there!"_

"_And get your ass shot down trying?! Shut up and work on what we've got here!"_

The argument had lasted exactly thirty seconds, Justin had never followed orders and he wasn't about to start now. He'd angled his Zero down, and made a straight shot for the colony. He'd blasted through the hangers and vanished.

Mu remembered yelling at him, telling to him to stop and come back, the communications had gone through... And now they were dead. The unit's signal had been lost, and he was sure it was destroyed now. The thought brought a fresh wave of pain to him, but he shrugged it aside as he continued to chase down the CGUE that Creuset was piloting. "Dammit, I'll take you down!"

"It seems like fate doesn't it Mu La Flaga?" Le Creuset taunted with a soft laugh, flying expertly out of Mu's range, all the while keeping a steady stream of gunfire aimed at the Zero.

"Shut up!" Mu roared angrily, hitting the thrusters hard to propel the orange machine through the black reaches of space towards the white/grey unit. It easily avoided him, flying through the blackness out of reach before letting loose fire again. The gun-barrels separated again, flying independently alongside him.

"You always seem to be getting in my way Mu La Flaga!" He taunted again, pulling back to avoid the fire that was shooting at him from the gun-barrels with incredible ease. "Though I can imagine you say the same about me!"

"Burn in hell you bastard!"

He chased down the machine, but it was just too quick, swerving in and out of reach to force him to follow. The hectic and hellish dance of the machines forced them closer and closer to the colony, and he followed willingly. The CGUE suddenly took a quick turn, flying down through the opening on the colony's hanger and into Heliopolis.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Mu exclaimed to himself, flying stationary for a few long moments as he stared into the open hanger. "He's going inside?"

He hovered there, uncertain for a few long moments. 'If I follow there's a good risk I won't make it out of there...'

"_You only live once dude, take risks and kick ass while you still can."_

'Nobody said it better than you Justin.' Mu commented with a little inward smile, and he dipped the nose of the Zero and shot into the hanger in chase.

**Inside Heliopolis**

A dead weight nudged her in the chest, bringing her back to her senses as her back touched the cold steel wall above her, she was weightless, drifting. She opened her eyes, wincing a little when the ache set up in her body. 'Ugn... What the hell?' Floating just below her was a corpse, blood leaking from the ears, nose, and mouth of the dead soldier.

Violet eyes widening in shock, she gently eased the corpse away, floating back down to the ground with little effort. She looked away, covering a hand over her mouth as her stomach impulsively heaved. 'Ugn... Dammit...' She looked around, realizing she was in the dark. 'The... The blast?'

Her memory slowly began to return, first beginning with the series of alerts that had begun to ring out in the hall.

"_Ensign Badgiruel, contact Lieutenant Ramius immediately!"_

"_Yessir!"_

'And then the explosion...' She vaguely remembered being lifted off her feet and slammed into the wall, but then nothing but a blur after that. She winced again, rubbing her neck and shoulder. 'That's going to bruise later...' She closed her eyes, giving herself a moment to adjust.

"Where's... Where's the ArchAngel?" Badgiruel looked around in confusion, still taking her bearings. It was dark, debris, pieces of clothing and shrapnel floated around the empty hallway, making it only seem more lifeless. 'A better question, where am I?'

She pushed off from the floor after her dizziness settled, floating quickly down the long black corridor in search for someone, _anyone_, alive. Her sense of direction flew back to her, and she realized she was now in the main hall, where the computers had been.

Most of the room had been entirely obliterated, the computer screens destroyed and entirely wiped away from the desks. More debris floated aimlessly around, she was thankful the bodies had either been incinerated or hidden underneath the fallen cement and metal. She risked her luck. "Is anyone here? Anybody?"

Her voice echoed off the empty room, the only answer to her quiet call. She sighed raggedly. 'Dead... All of them?' A cap went floating by, she quickly recognized it to be her captain's. Reaching out with trembling hands she caught it, and winced when she saw the bloodstain in the fabric.

"No dammit..." She hissed, closing her eyes as tears of remorse threatened to close her throat. The crew, the soldiers, everyone was just... Gone. So quickly. 'Too quickly. Nobody deserves to die like that.' She swallowed back the knot forming in her throat and called again weakly, "Are there any survivors?"

Still no answer.

She sighed weakly, half ready to simply give up and give in. A soft knocking caught her attention, she whirled quickly. The far wall where the doors had been was where the sound was coming from. The knocking grew louder and suddenly the doors simply flew off the sides and into the wall, revealing a small group of soldiers. One shone a flashlight into the room, Badgiruel sighed in relief.

"Ensign Badgiruel?" One of them called uncertainly, lowering the flashlight to get a better view of her face. "Ah, thank god you're alright."

"Officer Neumann?" Badgiruel called back in confusion, and when he nodded she sighed quietly again in relief. Finally, a friendly, and alive, face. She followed him hastily, and he informed her of what was going on the entire way.

"There aren't many survivors, just a few of us that were lucky enough to be onboard the ship at the time." Neumann explained quietly, showing her the miraculously still surviving ship that had been hidden away in the hanger. She followed him in, and he continued, "Most of them are factory workers though..."

"Any news on our status? Or the ZAFT ships?" She inquired, now that the ache was gone and there was some order the first priority was to understand just what the hell they were all dealing with. "Anything?"

"No idea really. We've been busy trying to get ourselves into some sort of order. Most of us really have no idea what happened beyond the explosions." He answered sheepishly, glancing around the dark ship. She was leading now, and they entered the bridge.

She floated down to the control station, examining the dark controls with what little light the flashlights gave them. She sighed and finally pressed a short combination, inwardly quipping, 'And then there was light...' The lights immediately flickered to life, and the computers began to start up with a low hum.

The status of the ship immediately came online, a damage report automatically coming up onto the screen. She surveyed the reports, a small smile lifting her dark lips. "This ArchAngel... She's quite the ship, barely enough of a scratch on her. It'd certainly take a hell of a lot more to sink her."

"But there's a mountain of debris in front of us Ensign." Neumann reminded her with a pained expression, gesturing to the windows of the bridge where it could easily be seen. "It's entirely blocking off the exit. We're trapped in here."

She frowned a little, turning back to the keyboard. Typing in another combination, she watched as a channel was opened, but static filled the screen and the bridge. "The airwaves are still being jammed, so there's still a battle going on... So this was a diversion. Morgenroete, the Gs, those must be ZAFT's true target then... It makes sense, but what's happening there now?"

**Heliopolis**

Justin smirked, unable to really help himself. 'I can't believe my luck... Crashing the Zero was a smart move I guess, I never got shot.' He winced, the memory of the crash still fresh in his muscles. His neck ached something fierce, he was fairly sure he was suffering from minor whiplash.

'Crashing the Zero got me on the ground... Then the real fun began.' He remembered racing across the grounds to where the secret weapons were stored, and then shooting down the pilots that had tried to stop him. Getting in was the trouble, he'd easily fixed the mostly completed OS system and running it was simple. And now he'd been able to walk in on the battle between the X-105 Strike and the grunt GINN unit, things were really going his way now.

His hands curled loosely around his controls again, watching as the GINN turned to face him. He smirked. "Alright then... Let's play then, shall we?" He hit the thrusters hard, sending the 106 flying fast towards the GINN. He hit it square in the chest, before both hands holding the knives sunk deep into the torso. He pulled away quickly, watching it explode into a firestorm of debris and flames.

'Good...' He sighed, running his ungloved hand through the mess of his dark auburn hair. He settled into his chair, and quickly shut the 106 off to conserve what was left of the power. He noticed the 105 watching him wearily, and couldn't hide a grin. 'Well hopefully they don't shoot me.'

The cockpit hissed open and he gracefully hopped out and sat on the edge of the door, waving to the 105. Cupping a hand around his mouth, he yelled cheerfully, "Oi! I'm one of the good guys! Don't shoot!"

The Strike paused, before slowly walking towards him, and then it stopped, still a good distance away. The cockpit opened, revealing a boy sitting in the piloting seat with a woman behind him. Slowly the woman edged out and hung onto the line with one arm as it lowered to the ground, the boy followed her out quickly afterwards.

Justin hopped to the ground with a sigh, pocketing his hands and he slowly made his way over to the two. His mouth was set in a line as thoughts began to swirl in his head. 'One of them is an Earth Forces soldier... The other one's a kid, not any older than seventeen at least... This is strange, even by my standards...'

Then he froze as the two came closer, eyes widening in sheer disbelief as the woman's features came into focus. Pale skin, marigold eyes and chocolate brown hair. His shock melted into a bright grin. "Murrue!"

"Justin?" Murrue asked in surprise, not expecting to hear the familiar voice of her older friend. He crossed the distance in a few short seconds and immediately wound his arms around her. She gasped in pain, her shoulder crying out in protest against the sudden contact.

Justin immediately let her go, seeing the bloodied mess her shoulder had become. He frowned. "You got shot?" She just nodded, they had time for reunions later. His frown became deeper when she spoke quietly, "Must have been hard to pilot with a shot shoulder."

"I... Didn't pilot." Murrue mumbled softly, glancing over her shoulder at the boy who was standing silently behind them. "He did."

Justin's frown darkened as he looked from the brunette to the boy, and he folded his arms. "You piloted?" The boy didn't look at him, seemingly absorbed in thought. He shook his head and asked again, "Kid, did you pilot that machine?"

"Yes, I did." Kira answered with narrowing eyes, not understanding or really trusting the man for some reason. He looked civil enough, he was wearing white pants and a blue shirt, military issue jacket around his waist. But either it was the coldness in his emerald eyes or the way his mouth was set, something about him made him suspicious. "And my name is Kira. Kira Yamato."

"I'm Halberton, Justin Halberton." Justin introduced himself cheerfully, though the tone didn't meet his eyes, they remained cold on the teenager. He looked over at Murrue, she'd turned another shade whiter, hand gripping her injured shoulder tightly to stop the bleeding. He sighed. "Murrue, you need to get that bandaged..." His gaze went back to the boy. "Inside the Strike, under the pilot's seat, there should be a first-aid kit. Can you get it for her?"

He measured Justin strangely, then looked back to Murrue. He sighed, and turned around, heading back towards the Strike. He easily climbed back inside, watching from a distance as the auburn haired man sat the woman down at the bench and undid her jumpsuit to look at her shoulder.

He fetched the kit, being careful to walk slowly. He was sure he'd seen a holster at the man's side, he knew he'd seen one at the woman's. He reached them, and when he saw the amount of blood that covered the shirt beneath her jumpsuit. He grimaced.

"It only looks worse than it is." Justin told him cheerfully, opening the kit after Kira handed it to him. He found the bandages and first washed away the blood with the bottled water, ignoring the brunette's gasp of pain. He bandaged her shoulder quickly, knotting it messily but it did the job and stopped the bleeding.

"Hurts like a bitch regardless..." Murrue growled quietly, ignoring Justin's chuckles. She winced again, looking around before her gaze settled on the X-106. "You managed to get that one out?"

"I crashed my Zero, managed to get in without being detected. Saw the fight and figured somebody might as well steal it." Justin answered nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders mightily before his gaze fixed on Kira again, eyes intense. "And I notice you got yourselves one as well."

"Not by choice." Kira answered harshly, voice turning hard and eyes narrowing a little in return to the reply.

"He saved my life Justin." Murrue murmured for the boy, and she noticed his face softened a little at her words and he glanced at her with a small little smile. She sighed. Then she heard voices calling out from a distance.

"Is that Kira?"

"Kira!"

"Kira! You're alright!"

She watched with surprise as a group of teenagers came racing over to them, a girl in an orangish dress leading the pack. She immediately jumped into Kira's arms, hugging him so tightly she was fairly sure the boy was having trouble breathing. The other three boys caught up with her, the one with glasses taking his turn thumping the boy hard on the back. Next the other brunette gave him another hug, then the blue haired one traded a high five with him.

"Thank god you're okay, after we lost you it was a disaster!" The girl exclaimed in relief, wrapping her arms around Kira again. The boy managed to hug her back awkwardly, but a gentle smile lifted his lips, his relief to seeing them again just as great. "You are okay right?"

"Yeah, I'm okay Miri..." Kira mumbled back softly, finally letting her go and looking around. 'Sai, Tolle, Kuzzey, Miri... Everybody's okay.'

"Who are they?" Kuzzey asked in a failed attempt for a whisper, looking over at the two soldiers in surprise.

"Lieutenant Halberton and Lieutenant Ramius." Justin answered cheerfully, though once again, the tone didn't meet his eyes. "Your friend here saved my friend's life."

"You did?" Tolle demanded in shock, looking from the injured Murrue to Justin before back to Kira. Then his gaze turned to the empty street, where the two huge machines were standing. He gasped loudly, reeling backwards instinctively at the sight of the mobile suits. "Wow!"

"What are those?" Sai asked slowly, now following his shocked friend's gaze to the mobile suits. He took a step forward, hoping to examine them farther. A sudden yell of a bullet whizzed by his foot and he jumped up in alarm. The group in unison turned to look at Murrue, who was holding a gun in her good hand, eyes narrowing as she glared at them.

Justin sighed raggedly, shaking his head a little as Murrue got to her feet, gun still held steady. He commented huskily, "C'mon Murrue, put it away, that's a bit extreme."

"Don't be such an idiot, you know what's going to happen just as well as I do." Murrue snapped, eyes narrowing a little as she looked each of the teenagers in the eyes in turn. She felt her shoulder ache, and looked directly at Kira. He was standing protectively in front of the girl, hands curled tightly at his sides, mouth set in anger. She sighed softly in regret, sand spoke firmly, "I'm thankful for what you did, I honestly am... But I can't help what I have to do now. You've been exposed to a top-secret military project, I can't let you leave now."

"What?!" Tolle gasped out loud again, unable to believe what he'd just heard. "So what are you gonna do to us!?"

"This has to a joke, we're not involved in the military anyway!" Kuzzey exclaimed worriedly, looking from the gun to the other officer, who was just standing there with an amused smile on his face.

"Yeah, we're civilians!"

A shot into the air quieted them quickly, and Murrue sighed, dropping the gun to her side with a look of defeat on her face. "As long as you've been exposed to those machines, it means I can't let you go as a soldier following regulations. So it means that until I can speak with my supervisors, none of you can leave my sight. All of you are under my supervision until further notice."

Before the chaos could start up again, Justin smoothly interrupted, "I believe that's where you're wrong Murrue. Since I'm technically you're senior officer, the kids are _my_ trouble." She looked at him in shock and he shot her a wink before looking back to the kids. He sighed and pocketed his hands, examining them each in turn. "Let's start off on the right foot then, shall we? Things will go plenty smoother if we all just act civil. Let's start with your names."

"I'm Miriallia Haww." Miri answered hesitantly, unsure of what to say as she looked from the brunette woman then back to the seemingly genteel auburn haired man.

"Tolle Koenig."

"Kuzzey Buskirk."

"Sai Argyle."

Kira didn't answer, merely glared him down until Justin shrugged and sighed. "Look..." He finally muttered, hands up in the air for a few moments before they went back into his pockets, "I don't like this anymore than any of you do. But it's regulation. Those things over there," he jerked his thumb towards the still units, "are top-secret and the highest priority to us soldiers. So anybody exposed to them will ultimately have to stay with us until our superiors tell us what we have to do."

"I don't believe you." Kira's voice whipped out harshly, hands curling into tight fists at his sides as his violet eyes glared into Justin's calmly surprised ones. "You're convincing and all, but you're not giving us any reassurances on our safety. I'm not going anywhere until I know all the details."

"Kira–" Murrue started quietly, but she fell short when Justin raised his hand to quiet her. She fell silent immediately, and focussed her marigold eyes on her lap.

"Look kid, I've got all the legal rights to make you your friends go wherever the fuck I want you to go." Justin snapped back, emerald eyes cold chips of ice and face set in a deep frown. "I'm also well in my rights to shoot you if you decide to resist or try to run."

"Justin!" Murrue exclaimed in surprise, completely taken aback by his abrupt change in behaviour and cold words. Despite what he said being true, she couldn't imagine he'd be so harsh with the teenagers.

"He wanted the whole story." Justin answered in a clipped voice, eyes narrowing a little as he returned Kira's angry stare. He folded his arms and continued harshly, "We have the law on our sides kid. It's bad enough that your friends over there even saw the machine, another entirely that you piloted it."

"You piloted it Kira?" Miri asked slowly, voice quivering as she broken the fragile silence that had quickly fallen on the group from the lieutenant's harsh words. They all turned to look at the silent brunette boy.

"I did." He answered angrily, violet eyes burning as he glared at the ground now.

"I'm sorry it's gotten to this, kid." Justin said quietly, voice abruptly changing from harsh to apologetic. His eyes were focussed on Kira now, his words entirely sincere as he spoke. "I'm sure you piloted the Strike with good intentions, but it's out of my hands now. I don't have a choice in what I'm doing. It's regulation and I can't argue with that."

"If we comply with everything you saw, and don't cause trouble... What happens to us?" Tolle asked quietly, breaking the silence for the second time.

"If you follow our orders and behave, then nothing will happen." Justin answered with an idle shrug. "And when our superiors have words with you, we'll take it from there."

"And if they don't want to release us?" Kira pressed, not satisfied with the short answer, resentment obvious in his voice.

"It's best we cross that bridge when we get there." Justin answered with an idle shrug, though the confidence in his voice fell flat. The silence settled again.

Murrue was quick to call them to order, gently asking the boys to go back to what was left of the factory and search out the remaining trucks that may still be intact. They followed her orders obediently, eying Justin uncertainly as they quickly followed the road back to the Morgenroete.

Kira went to the Strike with Miriallia on orders, and quickly opened the communications channel. Static crackling filled his ears, and the screen displayed nothing but a fuzzy picture. He sighed softly after five minutes of long nothing, and called out, "There's nothing working, the airwaves must be jammed!"

"Alright... Try again five minutes then Kira." Murrue called back, running her hand through her hair. She swore quietly under her breath, before turning to see Justin sprawled out on the bench, eyes focussing on the ceiling of the low structure that the bench was in. "You're really helping you know."

He didn't answer, closing his eyes and shrugging his shoulders.

"You were too harsh with them." Murrue scolded angrily, knowing that the teenagers were more than likely terrified now of what could be happening to them simply because they were reunited with their friend at the wrong time. "You probably scared the hell out of each and every one of them, why the hell were so you blunt?"

"They needed a healthy dose of reality." Justin answered simply, sitting up fluidly and looking her straight in the eyes, his serious. "Just because they're civilians, just because they're kids, just because they live in a Neutral area, it means they're immune to war? What do they really think just happened to Heliopolis?"

"That's besides the point Justin, they're still kids." Murrue stressed on the last word, sitting down beside him. Her pained expression reflected the guilt and resentment she was feeling, and she muttered angrily, "It's not fair of us to suddenly drop this on them. They're scared, confused, worried... You could have said it much more gently."

"Ah so shooting at them falls under the 'gentle' category?" Justin asked with raised eyebrows, disbelief written all over his handsome features. "C'mon Murrue, you can do better than that." She didn't anser, merely swore again and glared at the ground. "Civilians... They don't really get the full gravity of what war is. I don't have any sympathy for them just because they're kids."

"You were sixteen once." Murrue reminded him with a gentle whack to the back of his head, mouth set in a firm line. Her voice was serious when she added, "Just try to think about how you'd feel if you were in their shoes. Have some sympathy."

"Can't promise you anything..."

* * *

"Are you serious Ensign? How can we possibly manage to launch the ship with so much debris in front of us?" Officer Neumann exclaimed in shock, staring at the raven-haired woman with a mix of awe and confusion.

"Of course I'm serious." She snapped back, hands curling at her sides. "If we're really the only ones left, do you think we'd best spend our time sitting around here and hoping for somebody to come to our rescue or kill us? I don't think so."

"But there's so few crew-members who actually have any idea of what they're doing..."

"Then put your time to good use an figure out what to do." Badgiruel snapped, anger evident in her voice and posture and she examined the screen on the armrest of the captain's chair, where she was currently sitting. Her voice grew lower, but the frustration still evident, "Morgenroete could still be under attack for all we know. I refuse to sit here waiting for the news to come to us."

"We rounded up the crew-members Ensign, but..."

"Just get to your stations and follow the instructions on your screens." She ordered, voice ringing out in the mostly empty bridge, hands curling into fists as her mind crazily began to run through the sequences she'd memorized from the books. 'Good load the books do, it's not as if I've ever done this before... It's mostly luck from here on out...'

"But there's still ZAFT forces massed outside Heliopolis Ensign, we're not in any position to engage them." Neumann insisted, obviously having no faith in what they were about to do.

"Do you honestly think I'm not aware of that?" She shot back scathingly, eyes narrowing a little in annoyance. "When the ship comes online have her ready to fire the assault cannons. You want to get through the debris don't you?" Even as she spoke, a small kernel of anxiety was growing in her stomach. 'Luck... It all comes down to luck...'

He snorted indignantly but slammed himself into the navigator's chair regardlessly. His hands settled around the wheel and he muttered under his breath, "We're all going to die."

"Alright people, commence the launching sequence. Because we're low on time let's omit C-30 though L-21 from the process." Badgiruel ordered, careful to keep her voice level despite the worry that was growing. "Main power, online."

"Output increase is stable... 450 seconds till required rating..."

"Still too long." She growled under her breath, the humming of the ship's main engine beginning to grow louder as the time passed by, each precious second gone. "How are the Conduits to Morgenroete?"

"Undamaged ma'am."

"Then draw power through them, we can't waste any time. Get them online and relay the power."

"Yes ma'am." It took a few more seconds, but she watched with a soft sigh of relief as the time drastically changed. "Life support system is normal, CIC is online and stable... Weapons systems online and fully functioning, FCS contact initiated. Everything is functioning and stable, we're online and ready. Launch preparations are complete."

"Seal the airtight bulkheads. All hands prepare for sudden impact and for possible damage to the ship." She ordered, fastening her own seatbelt as she spoke. 'And hold on tight, this is going to get crazy very fast.' "Advance with caution, we can't afford to screw up now."

The engines hum grew to a dull roar, brightening to blue as they were activated. The white ship began to push forward, debris being nudged aside as the ship made her way through the dark tunnel. Smaller pieces of metal were easily pushed away, but the larger ones stayed still and scraped along the sides of the ArchAngel's armour, the shrill sound of the contact enough to send chills down anyone's spines. And it continued on.

In the opposite end of the colony the Moebius Zero sped through the dark tunnels connecting the hangers, gun-barrels unloaded and flying in file behind it. Mu swore quietly, hands gripping tightly around his controls. "Dammit... Why here of all places?"

The grey and white CGUE literally danced circles around his Zero, firing casually towards him but never hitting its mark. The mocking action only served to infuriate the blond pilot more.

"Dammit you bastard!" Mu roared angrily, slamming hard on the thrusters and chasing the CGUE at breakneck speed. It seemed to only really make the chase more fun for his rival, who happily danced in and out of reach again, laughing.

"It's a pity you have to die here Mu, I'd have preferred a better challenge!" Le Creuset yelled back to him, angling his gun with ease and letting loose a flurry of fire.

The Zero pulled back with impressive speed, but not quickly enough for the gun-barrels which followed through. The fire hit the first one, quickly causing it to explode into a mess of shrapnel. He grit his teeth, and began the chase again. The CGUE grew more aggressive, and jumped into the line of fire to actually literally jump onto the second gun-barrel. That exploded as well.

"Damn you!"

The CGUE pulled out its gun once more, this time aiming for the wall that the Zero was flying along. There was no chance for evasion as soon as the trigger was pulled, the fire struck the wall, and the CGUE quickly followed the hole out into the colony itself.

He stopped mid-flight, camera focussing in on the two trucks that were pulled up aside the two units similar to his won but yet so radically different. The first unit, the 105 was sitting back into the truck, looking as though it was in the process of equipping whatever was inside. The second was also in a similar position, though the equipment looked as though it was already attached.

'The two remaining units... This must be it...' Without a second thought he dove down towards the trucks to get abetter angle. The civilians below immediately hit the ground running, and he couldn't hide a small smile. 'Fools...' And he opened fire.

The second mobile suits stood, a long navy gun attached to its arm. It took aim and he quickly pulled back aside, avoiding the incoming blow that was never fired. He grit his teeth, the easy fake-out having fooled him. His hands curled tightly around his controls, eyes narrowing behind his mask. 'Not again!'

His hands curled around his controls, fingers reaching for the trigger when a devastating blast suddenly ripped through the colony, sending smoke billowing up from the ground. Fire blew out from a hill, and the buildings that had been there a moment before suddenly vanished. He froze for a split second, then quickly manoeuvred himself away. A white ship suddenly lifted out of the smoke, flying by his unit with a little care for what had just happened. He hovered alongside it, confused for a long moment. 'What in the world...?'

**AN**

**Lol, I tried, that's really all I can say for that. The ending seemed a little bit rushed, did anybody else feel that? It just gets so long (cue epic sweatdrop) I am so spoiled with my short (as my sis so lovingly call hers) candyfloss chapters, I've forgotten how to write a real action/drama fic. Woot, more practise I guess. Pass a review my way if you feel the need please!**

**Sky**


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